The recent and continuing growth of interest and the expanded participation of individual practitioners in the arts and handicrafts has resulted in a proliferation of designs, devices and apparatus to aid in the practice of these arts. Notable among these apparatus are those which seek to enhance the capabilities of these practitioners by providing a wide variety of methods of support of work-pieces and work-piece holders to allow greater productivity while reducing the physical effort required in their practice. Among these are a number of devices which are intended to aid in the practice of the art of needlecraft.
While most of the practitioners of these arts and crafts are able-bodied and capable of prolonged physical activity, many are not. As an example, individuals involved in the physical and occupational therapy communities long ago discovered that, in many cases, the practice of needlecraft is of great benefit when employed in the rehabilitation programs of individuals who have sustained injury or suffered incapacitating illness as it provides excellent hand-eye coordination excercise and dexterity training without requiring physical exertion, which may be contra-indicated. Individuals so afflicted tend to derive the greatest benefit from this activity when the pieces upon which they work are adequately supported in such a manner as to permit a relaxed and comfortable posture. The same is true of fully capable, able-bodied practitioners.
Several examples of support structures and work-piece holders which, in one manner or another, have attempted to address the problem of convenient, adjustable support of these work-piece holders to allow positioning of the work-piece to a location convenient to the artist, are found in the prior art. A typical work-piece holder or needlework scroll frame is illustrated in the disclosure by Selden in U.S. Pat. No. 3,774,326 wherein two dowels having flattened areas adjacent the ends thereof are engaged within accomodating slots provided in adjustable side rails, thereby allowing the periodic advancement of the work-piece as work progresses on the fabric. Other styles of work-piece holders employing non-adjustable side rails are also provided with rotatable dowels for fabric supply, advancement and tensioning through the provision of frictional or gripping rotation inhibiting means. It is readily observable that such frames, lacking a means for their own support, present a cumbersome means for accomplishing fine needlework, as both hands of the artist are required in its accomplishment. Immediately following the emergence of these larger frames came the development of a number of frame holding easels and stands for their support in such a manner as to make them more convenient and "at-hand." Such support structures were the subject of a number of disclosures, commencing in the mid 1970's, covering a wide range of applications.
Among examples of these support structures, found in the prior art, are an "Adjustable Floor Support for Needlecraft and Art Frames," for which U.S. Pat. No. 3,899,164 was awarded to Raymond Newman, which led the way and was followed in rapid succession by U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,906,648, 3,938,267 and 3,955,722 to Bard; 4,102,065 to Selden; 4,175,343 to Mathews; 4,229,890 to Dropinski; 4,292,748 to Miller; 4,378,646 to Mazeika; 4,590,695 to McGillivray; and 5,027,989 to Nevius.
Each of these inventors has attempted to bring the work closer-to-hand or enhance the convenience and comfort of the needleworker and to provide a stable base upon which to mount needlework or similar frames and each has, to a certain extent, succeeded in so doing. None, however, have addressed the problems associated with ergonomic accomodation.
In order for a device to be ergonomically correct, it must not only accomodate the needs of each individual who will use it; it must not only be possible for the individual user to adjust the device to conform to his or her individual requirements; it must be so designed and constructed as to permit the user to quickly and easily configure and/or reconfigure the device to accomodate the user's changing requirements. For example, if an individual is seated in a chair performing needlework or a similar function and it becomes necessary to leave the seated position, an ergonomically correct device will accomodate this requirement without the necessity of tampering with or changing a number of adjustments. It will be readily observed that the structures of the prior art, while supporting and holding the work-pieces in a position substantially over the lap of a seated artisan, also effectively trap or lock the artisan in the chair in such a manner that it becomes necessary to move the chair away from the support structure in order to exit the chair. In the event that the chair is of the large, comfortable arm-chair style, of the type generally preferred by persons engaging in this activity, it's weight and bulk may make impossible for those of limited physical capability to extricate themselves without assistance. Other of the above cited designs rely solely upon the weight of the craftsman, seated upon the base portion of the support structure, to maintain the work-piece in the desired position, thus making the user a "part" of the device and magnifying the effort required to extricate one's self from engagement therewith. The utility of many of the devices of the prior art is further diminished as many persons prefer to sit in a cross-legged position while accomplishing this art work; a position which is unassumable when using a stand having a single centrally located support leg, as the support leg must pass between the knees of the seated individual. It will also be noted in the prior art that diverse means are employed for clamping, attaching or otherwise retaining the work-piece frames in position relative to the various support assemblies, most of which employ a plurality of threaded bolts, acting upon clamping members of various constructions, which either grip the periphery of the work-piece holder frames or by fasteners which pass through the side-rails of said frames. While each of the examples of the prior art possess merit and provide useful assistance in the accomplishment of needlecraft and similar art work, they do not address, anticipate or suggest the solution to the problem which the present invention is expressly created to solve.